Criminal Justice Week events planned at Miami Hamilton

Criminal Justice Week poster The problem of contemporary human trafficking and slavery is the topic of Criminal Justice Week at Miami Hamilton.

Sept. 15, film screening: “The Whistleblower,” 4-6 p.m. in the Harry T. Wilks Conference Center. The film is based on the experiences of Kathryn Bolkovac, a Nebraska police officer who takes a job working as a peacekeeper in postwar Bosnia. Her expectations of helping to rebuild a devastated country are dashed when she uncovers a dangerous reality of corruption, cover-up and intrigue amid a world of private contractors and multinational diplomatic doubletalk.

Sept. 15, Joyce Hulse Manko Memorial Lecture, 7 p.m. in the Harry T. Wilks Conference Center. Keynote speaker Kathryn Bolkovac, author of The Whistleblower, will discuss sex trafficking, military contractors and her fight for justice. A reception and book signing will follow the lecture. Funding for this event is provided by the Joyce Hulse Manko Memorial Lecture in Government endowment.

“The department of justice and community studies is excited to bring Bolkovac to Miami University Hamilton,” said Daniel Hall, department chair. “Her story is compelling, raising important questions about ethics, human rights and political corruption.”

Sept. 16, film screening: ‘The Whistleblower,” 10 a.m.-noon. in the Harry T. Wilks Conference Center.

Sept. 16, The Fight Against Slavery: Lessons From History, 7 p.m., Miami Hamilton Downtown Center. Kelli Johnson, professor of English at Miami University Hamilton, will explore 19th-century abolitionism and its relevance in the fight to eliminate slavery and human trafficking in the 21st century.

Sept. 17, Constitution Day Celebration, 12:30–1:30 p.m., a public reading of the Constitution and discussion on free speech. From 1:30-2:30 p.m. Write for Rights invites university and community members to raise their voices by writing letters in support of activists imprisoned around the world for exercising free speech. Both events will meet in front of Democracy Wall outside Rentschler Hall.

Sept. 18, panel discussion: Human Trafficking, 7 p.m. in the Harry T. Wilks Conference Center. State and local leaders discuss human trafficking in local contexts. Throughout the month of September, Miami Hamilton Downtown Center will present a special exhibit featuring the stories of people who have experienced human trafficking and contemporary slavery titled “’If I got a chance to talk to the world:’ Stories of Modern-Day Slavery.”

These events are supported by Miami University’s departments of justice and community studies, black world studies, sociology, political science, psychology and women’s gender and sexual studies; Rentschler Library; Miami Middletown’s Applied Research Center; multicultural services; Miami regionals’ division of student affairs; Miami Hamilton’s Center for Civic Engagement and Colligan History Project; and Miami International Justice Mission.